


H is for Hypothermia

by Jazzie



Series: A to Z of Danny Whump! [8]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-05
Packaged: 2018-09-06 17:55:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8763106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jazzie/pseuds/Jazzie
Summary: Danny is dying from hypothermia on a tropical island, the irony of this is not lost on him.





	

Danny Williams was cold.  Not just a little chilly but shivering, teeth chattering, cold.  It was taking him a while to figure out how this was even possible, given that he was living on an island that even in winter had an average temperature around 70 degrees!  Perhaps he was coming down with the flu, which would be just his luck.  Temperature outside in the 70’s and here he was shivering.  He reached out to pull his bedding up higher and found nothing, reaching further he discovered that not only was there no bedding, there was no bed!  Beneath his hand was cold metal.  There was something seriously wrong with this picture.

It took a lot of effort on his part but eventually he managed to pry his eyes open just enough to look at his surroundings.  It was definitely _not_ his apartment.  For one thing he didn’t have just a single light fitting with only a bulb hanging from his ceiling, for another the floor of his ‘home’ wasn’t metal and the last telling sign was that he didn’t keep boxes and boxes of chilled goods on shelves.  Where in the hell was he?  How had he got here?  What time was it?  Should he be at work?  So many questions and so few answers. 

The Detective decided to take one question at a time, starting with where was he?  It really wasn’t that difficult to work out.  The environment was chilly, with boxes of perishable items on the shelves surrounding him.  He was clearly in some sort of industrial fridge.

How had he got here?  Hmmm, that one he’d come back to, things were still a little fuzzy and he needed some time to process his situation.

What time was it and should he be at work?  That should also be relatively easy.  Danny checked his wrist and found that he still had his watch on, the single overhead light was just enough to see by.  It was 10:00.  That wasn’t as much help as he’d hoped since there was no way to know if that was in the morning or at night, he should have got a digital watch instead of one with a clock face.  Maybe he should be at work, maybe he shouldn’t.  Next he patted his pants pockets to see if his cell phone had been left on him, but no such luck.

Back to the question of how he’d ended up locked… well hang on a minute, how did he know he was locked in, since he hadn’t checked.  Wearily pushing himself to his feet, wrapping his arms around himself to try to keep the shivering under control, he moved towards the door.  There was no handle, no way to open it from the inside, no window to look out of.  Deciding he had nothing left to lose he banged on the door and called out, after five minutes of this and no response, he figured that where ever he was there was nobody about to hear him.

Danny had no idea how long he’d been in this situation, how long he’d likely remain in this situation or how long he could survive at these temperatures.  Taking a leaf out of his partner’s book, he decided to see what there was in the boxes that might help.  Twenty tiring and frustrating minutes later he’d discovered that he was surrounded by boxes containing cartons of milk, butter and fruit… lots and lots of fruit, which included more than enough pineapples.  Of course, what else would there be in a fridge on this pineapple infested hell hole?! 

There was really nothing in the boxes that could help.  Even if he was thirsty the last thing he wanted right now was a drink of chilled milk. 

Having grown up in New Jersey Danny was all too familiar with hypothermia and the symptoms.  There had been more than one occasion where, as a beat cop he’d pulled a homeless person out of a snow pile suffering from hypothermia.  Thinking it through he knew that he was starting to show signs with the constant shivering that had set in.

Needing something to do that would help him keep moving he decided that in case his situation got worse he needed to make sure there was something on the floor that he could potentially sit or lay on, something that wasn’t the cold metal.  This was easy enough.  There were lots of cardboard boxes.  Emptying out some of them he flattened them out and laid them along the floor against some of the other boxes ensuring that there were several layers.  Flattening some more he put them nearby, if push came to shove he might be able to use those to keep some of his own body warmth for a short period.  When he was done he had three walls of boxes filled with goods with a pile of flattened boxes in the middle just big enough for him to curl up in.  That would have to do.  Naturally he was hoping that somewhere out there Steve, Chin and Kono had realised he was in trouble and were minutes away from finding him.  A guy has to have hope.

Walking slowly back and forth he started to think about how he had found himself in this mess.  There was something nagging at the back of his mind…

He looked down at what he was wearing.  Dress pants and shirt, that meant he was dressed for work.  Had something happened as he came home from work or as he was going to work?  Somewhere in the cotton wool that was currently his brain there was an answer and he was going to dig until he found it.

Absentmindedly strolling in the small space available he let his mind wander to the last thing he remembers.  He was closing the apartment door, locking it, heading for his car… then something over his mouth… then he came to in this place.  Damn someone grabbed him outside his apartment, they must have drugged him with chloroform or something, how cliché!

That means he was taken at around 07:00 AM, on his way to the office!  That meant they’d know he was missing.  Good.  Now had he been missing three hours or fifteen?  Given the fact he was still alive and only in the early stages of hypothermia he’d have to go with three hours.  Danny checked his watch, alright three and a half now.

 

 

-5-0-

 

 

Steve had been waiting for Danny to come into the office for over thirty minutes now.  He’d tried calling him and got no answer. 

There was no doubt that the SEAL was in a bad mood.  His partner had said he would be in the office early so they could go over some of the reports before he met with the Governor!  Unbelievable.  Trying Danny’s cell again and getting no answer he slammed the receiver down.

“Whoa Boss, what did the phone do to you?” asked Kono sticking her head into the office as the door was open.

Running a hand through his hair he looked a little apologetic, “Morning Kono, sorry bad start to the day!”

“Oh, where’s Danny?”

“He’s the reason for the bad start to my day!” growled Steve.

Chin appeared behind his cousin, “What’s that?”

“Danny was supposed to be in early to go over some reports, he’s not here and he’s not answering his cell!”

“Well that doesn’t sound like him.  I’ll run a quick trace on his cell,” Chin stated before heading to the computer table, followed by Kono and Steve, “Well that’s interesting…”

“What?”

“This shows he’s at his apartment.”

“I’m going over there,” Steve strode towards the door, “If he turns up here or calls in let me know.”

Kono and Chin exchanged glances.  They were both in two minds about what they wanted Steve to find.  If Danny was at his apartment then Steve was likely to tear a strip off him but if his phone was there and he wasn’t….

 

 

-5-0-

 

 

Danny’s shivering had now gone from constant to violent waves, with complete stillness in between, the walking no longer able to ward off the bone chilling cold.  His co-ordination had also started to fail and he was starting to stumble over his own two feet but he was determined to keep moving as long as possible.  The longer he could keep a reasonable amount of heat being generated by his own body, the longer he had for someone to find him; minutes could make all the difference.

Checking his watch for the hundredth time since coming round in this frozen hell, he saw that another hour had passed.  Worst case scenario he had been in the cold for around four and a half hours.  It didn’t seem all that long in the grand scheme of things…

Then he remembered something, he was supposed to appear in court this afternoon!  While Steve had been off on one of his Navy Reservist action weekends the team had caught a drug smuggling case and Danny’s testimony was all that now stood between the head of the group and freedom!  While Chin, Kono and HPD had been rounding up the lower level smugglers, Danny had found the proof to link a well-respected business man, Dimitri Valenkov, as the head of the group.  As he had found it he would be the one who would need to talk the court through the steps he took.  It seemed he had his answer as to why he had been shut in the fridge. 

On his next walk round he finally lost his footing and didn’t have the energy to get back up, so finally he crawled into the space he’d created between the boxes, pulling other flat boxes with him and covered himself up hoping that he didn’t end up never getting up again.

 

 

-5-0-

 

 

While waiting for Steve to call Kono had decided to assume the worst and start looking at what had been happening over the last few months, that’s when she spotted Danny’s court appearance this afternoon…

“Chin!  Look at this…” she pointed to Danny’s calendar.

“That can’t be a coincidence.”

“What is it you told me?  Coincidence takes planning?”

“That’s right Cuz,” Chin pulled out his cell and dialled his boss.

“McGarrett.”

“Steve…”  
“He’s not at his apartment Chin.  His phone and car are here but no sign of Danny,” there was no longer any anger just concern.

Chin quickly told Steve what Kono had found, describing the reason behind Danny being the only one on the team that could put this particular scumbag behind bars.

“Alright, get a list together of all known associates for anyone involved in the ring.  Even if they just passed each other with a nod, I wanna know about it.  We have to find Danny!”

Kono and Chin quickly turned their attention to the searches, while Steve headed back to the Palace, calling the Governor on his way back to let him know what was going on.  In turn the Governor promised to let the DA know and have them request a continuance.

Steve was back at the Palace having broken multiple traffic laws, something he would have had an earful from Danny for had he been in the truck, but since he wasn’t and it looked like he was in trouble, Steve ignored the little Danny angel sitting on his shoulder and listened to the Super SEAL devil instead.

“What have we got?”

“A list of about twenty names so far Boss.  All have some tie with either the leader of the ring that Danny is testifying against or one of his crew.”

“Divide it up and start making enquiries as to where they were this morning, each of you take an HPD officer with you.  Danny would have had to leave his place about 07:00 to get in here as early as he planned.  Anyone unable to provide an alibi have HPD haul them in for questioning.”

“Where will you be?”

“I’m going to speak to Kamekona, see if he’s heard anything on the coconut wireless.”

 

 

-5-0-

 

 

Danny was no longer shivering.  He was sure this was a bad thing but he couldn’t find the energy to care.  It was just as well he was tucked away in the small space he was in, otherwise the fact that he wasn’t thinking clearly could have had him doing something really stupid, as it was there was no energy for movement.  His whole body felt stiff and frozen.  The last clear thought to enter his head was that he was likely going to die of hypothermia on a tropical island.  Oh the irony!  He welcomed the blackness that washed over him as he slid into unconsciousness.

 

 

-5-0-

 

 

Steve pulled up to the kerb near Waiola Shave Ice and jogged over so that he could speak to Kamekona.

“Hey!  Howzit brah?” asked the large man behind the counter.

“Kamekona, I really need your help.”

The Hawaiian took one look at the SEAL’s face and moved from behind the counter to one of the picnic benches out front, away from tourists and locals munching on their shave ice.

“Wassup?”

“Danny’s missing…”  
“Little haole’s missing?”

“Yeah.”

“How can I help?”

“What do you know about the drug smuggling ring that 5-0 smashed recently?”

“Oh, dat was a big thing brah!  All over da news.”

“I think that his disappearance has something to do with that.  There was no sign of a struggle at his apartment.  His phone and car are still there….”

“You want me to see if I can get any info huh?”

“Yes, Kamekona, that’s exactly what I need from you.  Can you do it?”

“Eh.  Have I ever let ya down brah?”

“Thanks big man!  Call me,” Steve was back in the car before Kamekona could even get up from the table.

 

 

-5-0-

 

 

A couple of hours later the three remaining members of 5-0 were gathered around the computer table.

“All alibis checked out except for these two.  We can’t find them anywhere,” Kono threw two mug shots of two men up onto the plasma screen for the others to see.

“That’s Kyle and Kane Palakiko.  Brothers.  Their arrest record shows petty crimes, shoplifting, breaking and entering, but nothing violent and nothing involving drugs or smuggling!”

“What’s their connection then?”

“They went to school with one of Dimitri Valenkov’s crew.”

“Good enough…” Steve was cut off when his cell rang, “McGarrett.”

_“I got a coupla names,” Kamekona stated not wasting time._

Steve flipped his phone to speaker, “Go ahead.”

_“Kyle and Kane Palakiko…”_

“We just came to the same conclusion,” Kono informed him.

_“Dey been boasting about offing a 5-0 cop.  Dey not smart!”_

“Do you know where they are now?”

_“Word has it that dey drinking their fee over at The Golden Dolphin.”_

“I owe you one Kamekona,” Steve told the big man.

_“Just bring da haole home safe,” responded Kamekona before hanging up._

“Let’s go!” Steve led the remainder of his team out of the Palace and they all piled into his truck heading for the less than classy Golden Dolphin.

 

 

-5-0-

 

 

It had taken the 5-0 team less than an hour to collect their two suspects, bring them back for interrogation and get the answers they needed out of them.  The pair had thought entering the ‘big leagues’ was easy, until they were faced with an angry Navy SEAL.  He didn’t shout but was icy calm, casually detailing all the different ways he knew to hurt someone and not leave a mark.  Combine that with the stoic glare of the older Hawaiian detective and the two caved in no time.

Steve, Chin and Kono ran from the building, “Call EMS, tell them we have a potential case of hypothermia, condition not yet known,” Steve jumped behind the wheel of his truck heading for the closed restaurant where the Palakiko brothers had chosen to put Danny on ice, literally.

Kono called and requested the ambulance, giving details of the location and the concern for hypothermia.  They knew he’d been shut in a fridge at just above freezing temperatures for around five hours.  There was no way to know if he was even alive.

The truck came to a screeching halt outside the restaurant at the same time as the EMTs pulled up.

“Steve, what’s going on?”

“Jake, Andy, wait here while we clear the building,” Steve instructed the EMT before taking Chin and Kono inside.

Five minutes later Chin was back beckoning the two EMTs to follow him; they pushed their gurney in with them.  When they entered the kitchen area the medics could see a door to an industrial sized refrigeration unit standing open and could hear things being moved around.

“Danny’s in there,” Chin directed them to the door.

Jake and Andy entered the fridge, shivering as the cool air touched their skin.  Steve and Kono were kneeling either side of a prone Danny.  The man in question looked blue.

“Steve, Kono, we need you to step back out of the way please,” Jake told the pair, firmly but softly.  Andy moved the gurney in and ever so carefully they lifted Danny onto it.  Any jostling could cause his heart to stop if indeed it was beating, but the first step was to remove him from the area.

They quickly moved the gurney and lifted it into the back of the ambulance.  Jake could now assess his patient easier.  He placed his fingers on Danny’s carotid pulse, he felt nothing but knew that in the case of severe hypothermia it wasn’t always possible to feel a pulse straight away.  “Got a pulse, it’s very slow.”

“Breathing is shallow,” informed Andy.

The two medics now knew they were fighting to keep Danny breathing and his heart pumping.  There was a flurry of activity as Andy hooked up humidified, warmed oxygen and searched desperately for a vein, which he found in Danny’s neck, so that he could give warmed saline with a 5% dextrose solution.

Jake was busy getting a core body temperature, “Damn! Temp is 29 degrees, we need to get him to the hospital,” he grabbed a couple of blankets and laid them on Danny, now that they’d taken his vitals and done what they could, his best chance was to get him to hospital and quickly.

Andy moved to the driver’s seat, Steve jumped into the back and Chin closed the doors.  The ambulance took off with lights and sirens going.  Chin and Kono were in Steve’s truck and following just seconds later.

 

 

-5-0-

 

 

Doctor Jensen was standing by in the ER waiting for Danny Williams to be wheeled in.  The hospital had been notified by the EMTs as soon as they realised they had a severely hypothermic patient.  This gave the staff a chance to prepare.  As soon as the EMTs burst through the ER doors they were directed to the resuscitation trauma room.

“Jake?”

“Danny was found in nearly freezing temperatures in an industrial fridge.  Believed to have been there for around five hours.  Pulse 45 BPM; breathing 10 resps; core temp 29 degrees; BP 104/69.  A litre of warm saline with 5% dextrose.  Non-responsive throughout.”

“Gently does it as we move him across people,” Doctor Jensen ordered, “Get me a set of vitals, some warm blankets and some more warmed IV solution. Insert a Foley with a temperature sensor so we can get a constant core temperature reading.  I’m going to intubate,” Doctor Jenkins stepped to the head of the bed and quickly inserted the endotracheal tube which was then hooked to a ventilator with warmed humidified air being administered to help, not only Danny’s breathing but his core temperature.

“Pulse 40, BP 100/60” a nurse reported.

“Foley’s in place.  Core temperature is still 29 degrees,” reported another nurse.

The staff in the room held their breath for a few minutes, waiting to see if Danny’s core temperature would climb even slightly, the hope was dashed and Doctor Jensen knew he’d have to do something more drastic as he heard a nurse speak.

“BP dropped to 70/40.”

“Set up for a thoracic lavage,” Doctor Jensen instructed.

The team didn’t even blink at the instructions and before he could even prep his patient the equipment he needed was available.  He wiped an area over Danny’s left side and made an incision in the space just above the fourth rib in line with the middle of the clavicle and inserted the first chest tube and then moved to make another incision in the space above the seventh rib round the side underneath the armpit then inserted a second chest tube.  The staff then infused bags of saline that had been heated through the top tube, so that it ran out the tube lower down.  It wasn’t pretty but Doctor Jensen hoped it would be effective; all they could do now was continue infusing the warmed saline and monitor his temperature and vitals.

 

 

-5-0-

 

 

“It’s been over an hour since they took him back there!” Steve grumbled to nobody in particular.

“I spoke to Jake when we arrived; he was out restocking the ambulance.  He said that Danny’s condition is critical and it will likely be a while before we hear anything,” Kono’s words were less than reassuring to Steve and Chin.

“Have you called Rachel?”

Steve looked at Chin, “Not yet.  I want to hear how he is so I have something to tell her about his condition.”

The doors to the trauma area whooshed open and a stressed, tired looking Doctor Jensen stepped out and approached the team.  Waving them back into their seats he pulled up a chair opposite them.

“Sorry I couldn’t come out sooner but we’ve had a bit of a battle on our hands.  When Danny was admitted his core temperature was less than 30 degrees, which means he was severely hypothermic.  When we tried passive methods of rewarming they proved to be insufficient, so more aggressive treatment was required.  I’m happy to say that he’s stable and is now being moved to the ICU where they will continue to bring his core temperature back up.  Currently Danny is on a ventilator but once the staff in the ICU are comfortable that his core temperature has been maintained, they will slowly wean him off it.”

“He’s going to be alright?” Tears of relief shone in Kono’s eyes.

“As I always say under these circumstances, barring any complications.  He’s been very lucky.  Much longer…”  The doctor didn’t need to finish that sentence, “Anyway, if you go on up to ICU, Akela is on duty there tonight and is expecting you.”

“Doctor Jensen?”

“Yes Steve?” The doctor was wary due to the uncertain tone in Steve’s voice.  Like he had a question but wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

“When you say more aggressive measures?”

“Keeping it simple…  We used two chest tubes.  One in the front, one lower down at the side, warmed saline poured through allowing warming from the inside out.”

Steve cringed, he could probably have lived without knowing that but he figured Danny would know as there had to be two incisions, that meant Steve needed to know so he could help his best friend through the after effects of his ordeal.

“Thanks Doc,” Steve shook his hand and followed his team mates to the elevators so they could go and once again keep vigil by Danny’s bed.

 

 

-5-0-

 

 

The following morning saw Danny’s core temperature back to normal and stable.  The staff removed him from the ventilator before he was even aware that he was on one and moved him to a step down unit with less monitoring which would allow longer periods of rest as he became more aware.

Rachel had called for an update, Steve having let her know the previous night what had happened.  When she had been told that Danny would be off the ventilator she had promised to bring Grace by after school.

Steve, Chin and Kono remained by his side, unwilling and unable to leave until they could see him awake, only when they heard his voice would they truly believe that he was going to be fine.  For once the New Jersey Detective wasn’t interested in talking; clearly he was content to snooze the day away since there hadn’t been any movement or sound.

“Why is it when you want him to talk, he doesn’t and when you don’t want him to talk he won’t shut up?!” Steve asked frustrated at the lack of progress.

“Ha, I think he knows it’s what we’re waiting for and he’s decided to just make us wait until he’s good and ready,” Kono stated.

“Or maybe it’s because he was practically frozen to death this time yesterday and he needs some more time for his body to heal?” Chin reasonably pointed out, grinning at the other two as they shot him a glare each.

“Mmm.  Think ya can keep it down in here?  Some of us are trying to sleep!” mumbled Danny sleepily, in a voice that didn’t sound like his since it was croaky, a combination of lack of use and having been on a ventilator.  Kono leaned forward and pressed the button to let the nurse know he was awake.

“Danno!”  Steve smiled.

The eyes of the man in question opened at that and looked around the room, “I don’t see my daughter, which means you didn’t just call me Danno!”  The glare that the patient mustered was somewhat lacking in its usual heat due to the tiredness of the glarer.

Steve gave his partner the biggest, goofiest grin he could manage, “Good to see you awake, man.”

“Goof!”

“Here Danny, have some of this it will help with your throat,” suggested Kono helpfully, holding a cup of water with a straw for him to drink from.

“Thanks babe,” Danny smiled wearily at her once he’d taken a few sips.

“Seriously brah, how you feeling?” Chin placed a hand on Danny’s knee.

“Like I was frozen and been defrosted?” It was part answer, part question.

“That’s kind of an accurate description actually!”   
“Steve!” Kono punched him lightly on the arm.

“What?  It’s true!”

“Neanderthal!”

“I see everything is getting back to normal in here,” a voice stated from the doorway.

“Hey Doctor Jensen, look whose awake!” a grinning Steve pointed at the man in the bed.

“So I see.  The nurse answered the call button but heard you all talking and decided to page me so I could see for myself!”  Doctor Jensen took Danny’s chart and reviewed the information on his vitals, which were being recorded every hour, “Everything is looking good Danny.”

“When can I get out of here?”

Steve, “Now slow down just a minute…”

Chin, “I don’t think…”

Kono, “Danny, you just woke…”

“Enough!  I’m the Doctor in the room so I’ll answer the patient’s question, if you don’t mind!” Doctor Jensen rolled his eyes.  This was why he liked the ER sometimes, you got a patient stable then another doctor took over their care.  Unfortunately he was one of those doctors that liked to follow up on his patients, especially his regulars.

“So?” Danny raised an eyebrow.

“You’ll spend the next twenty four hours in this room.  It’s not ICU, but is considered a step down unit, where there is still the constant monitoring required for less seriously ill patients.  If all remains stable you’ll be moved to a private room for a further twenty four hours.  Then, barring any complications, you’ll be released.  You’re currently on antibiotics to prevent pneumonia and infection.  You also have a couple of incisions on your torso due to chest tubes, so we have you on some pain medication.  The stitches will dissolve on their own in the next couple of weeks.  Danny you’ve been very lucky.  There are no signs of frostbite or other complications that can come from such a severe hypothermic reaction but that doesn’t mean that when you get out of hospital you go straight back to work.  It’s going to take time for you to be fully up to strength again.”

“Will you stay with me when you get out?” Steve asked.

Danny gave the SEAL an assessing glance.  If he was honest with himself, and he always tried to be, this had been too close from the sounds of things.  He wasn’t yet ready to hear all the gory details of what had happened, how they’d found him and what treatment he had received.  Chest tubes?  Really?  Definitely not ready for that explanation.  Maybe a few days at Steve’s resting in the sun, not feeling cold, would be good.  “Yes, Steve, I will stay with you when I am released.  Thank you.”

“Good.  Now I’m going to leave you to rest,” Doctor Jensen looked pointedly at the rest of the team.

“Thanks Doctor Jensen,” Danny held out his hand and the doctor shook it, smiled and left.

Considering he had only been awake a short time Danny was feeling exhausted and couldn’t hide the wide yawn.

“Doc’s right, you need to get some rest.  Grace will be in later and you want to be awake for that,” Steve pointed out.

“Hmm,” Danny nodded and started to sink back into the pillows.

Kono pulled the blankets up under his chin, “You warm enough?”

“Uh huh.”

“See you later brah,” Chin smiled as he watched the detective drift into sleep.

“You guys head off, I’m gonna stay a little longer.”

The cousins exchanged another of their looks that spoke volumes if only you knew the private language, before leaving.

Danny shifted in his sleep, the blankets sliding off his shoulders slightly and a small shiver ran through his body.

Steve leaned forward and pulled the covers back up, tucking them around his friend’s shoulders, “It’s alright brother, I’m here and I’ve got your back.”

 


End file.
